Miri - Lurve this Bakery

I simply lurve the creativity at this place.

It looks like just another old-school bakery * well, like everything else in Miri now * and having nothing to do, bored me actually strolled into each shop to have a look. Indeed this is a very good find.

What fascinates me about this bakery is the creativity the baker(s) possess. They have some stuff which I think even metropolitan KL do not have (or at least, I tak pernah nampak la).

I salute you this Baker(s)!

You got to look at the pics to feel my excitement… I risked my life snapping pics in the bakery ok - only God knows what they'll do to me in Miri if they suspect I am trying to document their products to copy.

Teddy cakes & Lovey Dovey cakes - quite common rite? Wait....

Tadaaa! Bread Sushi!!! I almost cant believe it myself! The white layers are bread, and they have like chicken floss and alll rolled in. Looks seriously like sushi! Lurve this idea!

Another favorite of mine - LOLLIPOP BREAD!!! * pengsan * So cute and nice looking rite!!! So creative!!! I likey!!!

The prices are similar to KL though...

Move over Jco / Big Apples - they have their own "version" there...

They also offer elaborate decorated cakes... Some quite nice, but mainly I am fascinated by the kind of details they laboured on the cake. Though some designs might not be very nice, but the details absolutely wows.

Check them out yourself at the details... Fantastic!

And I absolutely dig their marketing tool!!! You know how annoying it can get during those peak times when you have to fight with other customers to have a look at the cake designs selection album? Here, 10 people can look at their products T-O-G-E-T-H-E-R as they paste the pics on a standing board! Though can make the board looks nicer / posh, but the concept is really good. None in KL has this so far...

Despite not much difference in the prices with KL's, however, for the same price, you get much much much bigger portion of bread you paid for.

Oh well, I was bloated for consutively 8 days there, I bought these to snack on the plane... like the bite sized cheese+sausage buns on a stick - and the almond choc cookie - my dada ate it once I reach home... * heehee *

They certainly have many more to offer, but I took pics of those which I find truly unique and never seen before in KL (or maybe just me the katak bawah tempurung). They have many more "unique" products where might not be impressive in appearance but are very interesting in the combination of flavors and ingredients.

Definitely a memorable snapshot of Miri for me...

Miri : Cute Housekeepers

Where I "camped" for 8 nights...

A pretty good room, with bath tub... Given its located in a small, slow town.

The reception area - very old-school rite? The whole hotel is very old-school. I feel like I am transported back into era of the late 1980s/early 1990s...

However, I really find the housekeeping staff really sweet. I have a "friend" with me on this trip - yes, I like to bring something from home when I travel if you dont know already.

Each time when I return to my room after the housekeeping staff do their job, I noticed that they some how "entertain" me by carefully and thoughtfully placing my friend on the bed in different ways. And they place it differently EACH TIME. It makes me feel that someone is there to greet me, I appreciate their personal touch.

* Note how they arrange the pillow and my duckie differently every day.

1st housekeeping

2nd housekeeping

3rd housekeeping

4th housekeeping

5th housekeeping

6th housekeeping

7th housekeeping

Cute anot? * LOL * I appreciate the little things / thoughts people do where many might not think it is significantly mean anything, to me - it does * wink *

Miri - The 1st n Last Day

The long dued summary for my Miri work trip. I shall break it into few posts to highlight some of the stuff I would like to share as there are just too many pictures and too much info - I guess, will bore all to death with me already very "flavour-less" style, hence will pick some to share for SP's sake * =) *

PQ the city gal managed to set her chunky feet to the Land of Miri on a lazy Sunday afternoon. The Miri Airport looks like KLIA at one angle;

Looks familiar rite? Dont be fooled - its nothing like KLIA...

It comprises of only 2 stories - so this picture tells you pretty much of all of the airport * heehee * As I am not a frequent traveller, to step onto this airport sets me dis-oriented as its a really small airport. New - but small.

On the day flying out of Miri back to my territory, I got to the airport earlier to get a good look at it. They do have a few cafeterias, especially on the 1st floor. As my flight is 330pm, decided to catch lunch. Saw this Mr Bean cafe, though could get a decent meal but I am fooled...

Its actually a B-A-R! Yes, in the AIRPORT.

Really a red district place, with the RED lights in the cafe.

Its empty as its noon, but hey, I guess one could catch a glass or two before onboarding? * =P *

My "red" meal - the place is only lighted with red lights - well, I can say I see Red at everything there. A very tak sedap meal, but dont have much choices there...

At least I get to see a small town airport and catch a mug of beer while waiting for my flight in a RED bar shrouded with smoke with 2 huge man encased in tattoos playing pool at one corner of the bar - please dont ask if they were waiting to get onboard or just hanging out... I just wanna get my ass back to KL... * =P *

7

Got tagged by my Pet-Bro for this. I dont usually do tags, but for my Pet-Bro I will * heehee * ...

Tag Bahasa Malaysia oleh Adz.

7 Fakta:
1. Suka Tidur
2. Suka menulis tapi nampaknya tak pandai menulis.
3. Suka memasak/bake tapi tak suka makan hasil kerja sendiri.
4. Suka Kena Tipu.
5. Muka Tak Nampak Macam Cina walaupun I ni sememangnya Cina asli.
6. Suka benda yg lembut dan baldu.
7. Mempunyai mata beruang Panda yg tetap

7 Lagu:
* Ala... I ni suka dengar Lagu Cina la... susah ni...

1. Moonriver
2. 1st Love - Utada Hikaru
3. Nothing's Gonna Change My love for You - George Benson
4. Quando Quando Quando - Michael Bubble
5. Theme song for Beauty & the Beast
6. I will Always Love you - Whitney Houston
7. HAve you Ever - Brandy

7 Yang Menakutkan:
1. Kereta Rosak Tengah Jalan Masa Traffic Jam
2. Dokumen Penting hilang masa di luar negara
3. Lelaki yg tak witty dan dongkoi
4. Hantu!
5. Takde air untuk minum (I ni mesti minum banyak air!)
6. Hilang memori indah / pengalaman manis
7. Hilang kebolehan mendengar, melihat, bercakap…

7 Perkara Sering Disebut
1. Oooo-Kay
2. Sure
3. eh...
4. HUH?
5. WTF?
6. Die...
7. Aaawwww....

7 Perkara Bernilai:
1. Keluarga
2. Chee-mui saya
3. Memori Manis ku.
4. Beruang/Kawan Plushie saya.
5. Telefon Bimbit.
6. Hadiah yg bermakna tinggi buat ku.
7. Identiti saya.

7 Pertama Kali:
1. Mabuk - Sangat Mabuk.
2. Dikucup pipi.
3. Langgar Kereta Orang.
4. Membeli Kereta dengan Duit Sendiri, daripada usaha sendiri.
5. Derma Darah
6. Pergi melancong ke luar negara tanpa ibu bapa
7. Naik Kapal Terbang

7 Tag Lain:
Takde la - sape sape yg sudi nak cuba, sila tag diri sendiri ya * =P *

Nail Color Xperiment

It strucked me at the mere hour of 2116 today that I seemed to be lacking of the enthusiasm to blog lately. Apparently I appear to others to have become less colourful in my topics to share, and my blog does not seem to receive a comment that it is "flavourful".

Oh well, a blow to my ego it might be, to learn that I am either losing my passion to blog, or just plainly not a talented writer. The truth always hurt dont they?

Maybe I should just shut the F*&% and just post pictures? Or just stop posting until I can finally have the "passion" to churn out something "flavourful"? * hmnn... *

It is not helping that I am lacking the time and energy to blog, having the piled up entries to publish. But they are all excuses to hide the fact that I am not "flavourful" in nature of my expressions.

Anyway, if I can not be flavourful, and people would like to see some color of my life (seriously, my life is totally grey with no exciting colors to mark my youth).

My latest experiment with my Nail Art skills - hopefully this is better than my blogging skills? * =P * I almost cant believe that I can actually pull this off with least mess! Well, I am a poor lowly executive, with the 40% petrol hike lagi, I can only afford to do my nails MYSELF * =P*

Yeah, I shocked every single person at work with my blood-red nails, with BLACK tips softened with some glitter. * LOL * One makcik at work commented "Memang-la, masih muda, cuba-la macam macam ya!" * LOL *

Therefore, enjoy my colorful nails to hide the fact that my life is colorless and my blog "flavour-less"

Pizza vs Satay

Nolstalgic. It's the only word I can convince myself why in Hell's reason I stepped into this place.

Was actually speeding our way about USJ9 and Taipan to look for a place for makan with CH as he had to rush off for his next agenda (well, what's new about CH rite? =P) Saw this restaurant which used to be in Taipan, now in USJ9, thought why not give it a go - it used to be a rather nice place for food - well, at lease it USED to be.

Time waits for no man and changes all claims to be ever true again. Prolly due to the evolution of my taste buds or plainly they changed the chef and the new one sucks, what used to be "nice" now translates as "yuck".

To spare you from the lousy read, here I allow you to feast on the pic;

Just like some people we meet in life - looks good, prolly great on the appearance, but in reality - are just plainly bad and tasteless...

Huge Lolli

Always fancied those pretty, huge ass, colourful Lollipops - but I don't eat wan, so usually can't give myself a reason to buy * =P *

But recently, I bought one.

Pretty?

To give you an dimension of how huge this is, I place it next to our average mouse * heehee *

Please dont misunderstand, its not for me. Got it for this guy colleague who have been helping me a lot to do some trainings. We were having some conversations and somehow, his charming self brings me to the promise to get him a huge lolli to reward his helpful and patience with us. * hehehe * Yes, SP - he is those witty-charming kind * LOL *

But appearance wise, more for C - as he is the geeky, IT guy * hahaha *

The rm1.80 Cupcakes

I dunno why I dunno why I dunno why.

There's a co-op at work, where they sell some baked goods to cater for office people like us who wakes up just in time to rush to work and eats rare breakfast * =P * Not knowing why, I fell in love with these cupcakes they sell.

Let's call it the rm1.80 cupcake (that was the price I last bought BEFORE the petrol hike). Was introduced by chance as an offering from a now-resigned colleague.

Its actually a very basic cupcake -with butter cake and colorful butter frosting. But VERY BUTTER punya Butter cake and Butter Frosting (ya, I tengah merepek rite?) Somewhow, it's simplicity tingles my tastebuds. I like it so much, will look for it everytime I happen to be there in the morning. Apparently, it's not easy to buy as well, usually sold out by 10am.

Maybe sedap cos I am always hungry at the time I bought it * =P *

Kari Kepala Ikan

A colleague deliberately drove us to this Kari Kepala Ikan place somewhere in Taman Wahyu - which apparently is a famous place for this dish. To those of you who have no idea where Taman Wahyu is (like me before), its located somewhere in along Jalan Kuching on the way towards Kepong. Yup, all the way there for lunch...

Apparently this shop is owned by Chinese but run by Indians. You can see some Chinese food as well as the Kari Kepala Ikan and Indian dishes here. Seriously, they offer " lok yau choy" (vege in oyster sauce - Chinese Style) there to go with you fish head! A crowded place, with many dishes to offer.

This is the famous Kari Kepala Ikan. To me, I think it is okay, as I preferred the one I tried in Port Dickson.

A thick broth of curry, with generous servings of TaufooPok and vege... You can choose a "medium head" or "large head" to indicate the size of servings of the fish head you want.

Another popular dish there - the kari ketam. My colleagues love it, but I dont fancy ketam bunga wan, so no comment * =) * But the gravy was good though

The beef curry - this is seriously yummy! Fragrant, rich taste of spices.

Fried chicken. And here, people usually accompany the fish head with Coconut drink! I likey!

This is another popular dish there - which I did not touch at all. WL's fav - telur ikan... Everyone said it was good wor...

I would say that its an alrite place for fish head as I dont usually eat it, but I have tasted better, but dont worry, this is good as well though I prefer the other dishes rather than the fish head.

Sorry for not being able to rate this, as its a treat from one of the managers, hence did not and still does not know the price * =P * Service, Ambience and Cleanliness - well, just imagine a mamak's * wink wink * And I appreciate the big plate of fresh fruits after the meal for every table.

An indeed drowsy 2nd half of the work day after a full tummy of curry! * heehee *

New Skin

Yeah, I promised myself to change the look of my blog at every hundred-th post and I am now shy of 13 posts before the "supposed" change * =P * heehee *

I guess I just couldnt resist - yes, its a heat/thought of the moment thingy to change it. You know - how u suddenly feel like wanna do something out of a sudden and you just did it without pondering much on it? That was the feeling I got * hehehe * Or prolly I gotten bored with my old skin...

I noticed that it is not easy to find one skin I like to use for my blog. Its either not to my likings, or it somehow can not be used for my site. Me being buta IT can't design and create one, worse, I dont know why some skins can't be used on my Blogger... Biar-la, I change once every 100th post anyway * =P *

Worst - just use a less pretty one from the standard templates in Blogger * =P *

Yeah, dedicate this change to my daughter WL - for her loyal passion to the color GREEN. I miss ya lots!!!

Good 'ol Local Food

Took these pictures a while ago without knowing why I took them - prolly it is already an embedded habit in me to take pics of any platter on my table. My mind sort of move into auto-pilot mode and take pictures * =P *

Sometimes, all it takes are some good 'ol yummy local Malaysian food to satiate my tastebuds. Hey, they are one of a kind - where else can we get something similar that taste as good?

Yummy rojak from a stall in Taipan. SP recommended this and yes, other than the rojak buah Aunty at SS2 pasar malam, this is another one hell of a damn delicious rojak buah ever! This one has cebisan sotong kering in it and the har-koe gila wangi! There goes the cholesterol level, but it is worth every bite!

The famous satay place along Kesas highway rest area near Bukit Jalil. It has always been a popular place for their satay - well, not bad. Like thei peanut sauce - you can "adjust" the spicyness of your sauce by adding more or less sambal into it. Me being a non-peanut-person thinks this is good - so I suppose it is really good? * =P *

At the same highway stop, there's this stall selling Malay laksa as well (sorry - i seriously dunno if this is laksa johor, or laksa penang or laksa apa - but its the laksa with fish meat soup =P) which is tasty. The soup was thick with fish meat and look at the presentation - plenty of greens that coupled with the thick soup, it makes spooning the noodles a lot of work. Dont get me wrong - its hard work well worth it when you taste the luscious taste of fish meat soup...

Who says Malaysian food cant bring great satisfaction? They are hidden jewels - wont know what we miss until we do not have the chance to savour them anymore...

Hoodie-Bear

Struggling to find some comfort in the jungle world of work amidst the papers, wayars (yes, memang banyak wayar at my work desk as I need to take care of the remote telephony report PC + Projectors) and of course, my mess - I feels that I needed something “me” to keep myself being PQ.

Being at work means (or maybe just to me) I am obliged to behave professional + serious + mature + adult + appear-intelligent-despite-I-am-so-not, hence sometimes I feel as if I got “lost” in the corporate environment. I felt as if I have transformed into this “person-at-work” and atop the work+stress, I have a dire need to remind myself that there is this “I” still in me. Its okay if you don’t get this, I am at lost sometimes * =P *

Hence, to inject something to remind me of “me” at work, I have this friend with me. To cuddle during the times I desperately feel like wanting to shout profanities at work due to annoying people and the high rising speed of work piling on my desk. (And also to ease the desire to hug that cute Him * wink * wink *)

Hello! This is my Hoodie-Bear! He(yeah, it wears a pink overall, but I like to think of it as a modern, metrosexual guy-bear * =P *) sits atop my Lappie watching over me - careful not to allow me to "lose my temper" * LOL * Yeah, like how WL always tease me, I have this inner Tigress awaiting to unleash when the right trigger comes along * muahahaha *

My Hoodie-Bear can tell the weather. If it is raining outside, he will put his hood up

When its sunny, he pokes his ears out! * heehee *

My colleagues beh-tahan me yet they will sometimes stop and help me adjust the hoodie according to the weather if I happen to be too "occupied" to notice the weather * heehee * And people are surprised that I am into plushies as, apparently, I look like the least likely person who are into this kinda stuff - well, they are just SO wrong! * LOL *

Well, my Hoodie-Bear just again, reinforced everyones' impression of me as the 2nd youngest person in the office * =P * I get that exception a lot, since I am the youngest (most are married or going into retirement), even my Boss and managers, forgive me and my "antics" as they all think of me as the Baby of the lot!

PQ the Baby? Sure knock your jaws to the balcony, hor? * wink *

Kena Lottery - At Last!

Yay! Kena Lottery - At Last! But I am not the one who bought the ticket * =P *

I have only bought lottery twice in my 24 and half years of life - both times tak menang apa-apa.

Everyone will at least for one strike it with the IC number despite them buying a ticket or not - but mine never even came close to the numbers announced.

I seem to jinx every car I drive. Cars which previously will win a lottery ticket or 2 every now and then in the family will suddenly goes quiet when it is being handed to me. Saman tiket jer la memang I kena few times adi.

But believe it or not, 3rd week into my new car - it struck the lottery! Yay!

Though a minor prize, but am glad that my DaDa got buy and at least, this proves for once, I am not totally that of a Jinx after all...

Another Jap-fusion Pasta Place

Hmmn… Lately seems to be the trend for those Jap-fusion Pasta – this kind of restaurants are sprouting in major shopping malls in Klang Valley. The hype seems to be on these pasta cooked with added Jap touch in it, which to me – is still pasta regardless what they say… * =P *

Nevertheless, no food should be missed – all least I lived to tell that I have tried and tested… * muahahahaha *

The pasta we tried memang did not give me any Jap-feel lo… Though the pasta was not bad – but still, I want to have that Jap-feel to it mer… Of course, if compare to Pasta Zanmai, this is no match…

A cream-tomato-sauce pasta – okay, but not so much to my likings.

This green stuff was actually good – though a lil too salty … WL might like * =P * the salty-thing * hehehe *

This was tagged as “gratin” in the menu, but ended up was something like baked pasta – weird – but sedap jugak la… Got big-big scallop though…

And I did manicure on the same day – as I miss WL, so Green is the color! * woohoo! * Coincidentally, it matched with my drink…

Green Nails with Green Tea… * =P *

And Green Tea Ice-cream! * hehehe * Apa macam WL? “ Kaam Tung” anot? * =P *

Oh... Customer Service must give high abit as we were impressed by the animated supervisor/manager they have who seems to react/response to your every request in a manner that are so formal and well-practised, I bet he recite it purely from the call script the management provided WORD-BY-WORD EVERY SINGLE DAMN TIME.

Impressive.

Rate : Price 4.5 /10 Ambience 4 /10 Food 5 /10 Service 7 /10

Groovy Sushi

More food entry as I am still lazy to load my pics from my Miri trip * =P * Yaa, a lot of hardwork to do that – have to go get the cables, then plug in, then click here n there to transfer, then save the pics, then load into multiply then blogger… you see the hardwork there? * =P * SP so gonna cubit me again * heehee *

Gotten groovy lately after makan at Sushi Groove * wink * wink * Can say its groovy la, as the décor is dark inside, and they offer many alcoholic beverages (yup, jack daniels and like in a sushi place?!?!?) so once you have one too many… err… “sushi”, you will get groovy…

Really thinks their menu is cute – as they put an effort to give captions that sounds so cool. And WL, this place gives good food presentation, so no worries on receiving poorly made, ugly sushi… And I think WL will feel at ease here – they have GREEN cutleries…

Cantik?

I like how they offer many different kind of sushi, and they have those with avocado and all * sorry, forgot the names =P * and how their sushi are shaped perfectly bite-size. Once can comfortably put the whole ball of rice into the mouth without having to stretch you cavity space and enjoy the burst of flavors as you chew.

With them having so many interesting sushi, I decided to choose their set which allows me to have a bite at most which I felt like eating.

Pretty pretty sushi compartmentalized in squares.

The soft-shell crab with avocado

Got the conventional Salmon…

Forgot-what’s-its-name , it was delicious and yummy too!!! Got mango, beef... yum-yum!

And ordered this rather un-Jap-like appetizer – Beef slices rolled up with mozzarella cheese. Ok ok only, but looked ugly – looked like an uncircumcised D*** muahahahhahaa But seriously looks like it! * =P *

Price wise is rather the standard market price. But I do think this place offers good food – much better than the franchise yg ada katak as logo, and the rest like raja sushi and geng * =P * The food here tastes more custom-made rather than the plastic-looking ones at some major franchises.

Rate : Price 6 /10 Ambience 6.5 /10 Food 7 /10 Service 6 /10